Display device



RQ J. MANcUso DISPLAY DEVICE Dec. 27, 193.8.v

Filed oct. 21, 1 93'7 2 sheets-sheet 2' 'l lll fa WVM- 37 NIMH IH II,

In A

. j IVENTOR; Ra-[pjmzfum A i@ H1114 y l Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITEDSTATES `PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY DEVICE Application October 21, 1937,Serial No. 170,257

8 Claims.

'The present invention relates to advertising and display devices andmore particularly to a foldable display device and an improved easel forsupporting the device in display position.

Foldable display devices are used extensively for advertising ordisplaying articles of merchandise on sales counters or in storewindows, because they can be shipped and stored in fiat or collapsedposition and thereafter be folded into display position. A popularfoldable display device comprises an upright Wall having foldable stepsor shelves upon which articles may be placed, an easel for supportingthe upright Wall, and tabs or other means for locking the easel againstaccidental collapsing thereof. A dilliculty with display devices of thistype is that considerable time is required to set up or assemble thedevice, primarily because the easel must be folded and locked by manualoperations. This usually requires thev use of both hands, which in manyinstances in inconvenient. For example, if the display is assembled in acrowded store Window, access to the easel may be difficult. Uponcollapsing the device, manual operations are again necessary to unlockand fold the easel into collapsed position. Frequent insertion of thetabs or operation of the locking means weakens them considerably andultimately impairs them to such an extent that they are no longercapable of effectively locking the easel in assem-r bled or set upposition.

rlhe present invention aims to overcome these difficulties by providinga simple inexpensive display device which is readily folded into displayposition and may be Acollapsed with equal facility.

The invention further aims to provide an im proved easel constructionfor the device which is adapted to be automatically guided and lockedinto supporting position by folding the device into display position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensivefoldable display device which is readily assembled and collapsed Withoutrequiring skill or experince.

Another object of the invention is to provide a display device havingfoldable steps which are rugged in `construction and attractive inappearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved easelconstruction Wnichis guided and locked automatically While setting upthe device. p

Another object of the invention is to provide a display member having afoldable member attached thereto, and an easel adapted to be (Cl.L10--124.1)

moved and locked in set up position by the foldable member.

Another object of the invention isto provide an easel having flapsadapted to be folded and guided into locked position Without manual op-5 lo A further object of the invention is to provide a combined displaydevice and easel constructed of a minimum number of parts which areformed by simple cutting and creasing operations.

Other and further objects of the inventiom Will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment2g of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specication,

wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective View illustrating a preferred embodimentof the invention;

Fig. 2` is an exploded View taken from the back of the deviceillustrating the assembly thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Fig, 1 showingthe easel locked in set up position; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the device and easelwhile being folded into V set up position.

Described generally, a preferred embodiment of the present inventioncomprises a foldable sheet forming an upright wall or display member, asecond foldable sheet attachedA to the back of the first sheet, and aneasel member carried' by the second sheet adapted to be automaticallyfolded into set up or collapsed position by the 1 second sheet.Preferably, the above parts are made of decorated sheets of cardboard orother V suitable material adapted to be readily cut and creased toprovide an inexpensive foldable advertising and display device. Y

Referring again to the drawings there is shown a sheet of material Ihaving an upright card or displaypanel' 2V at the upper portion thereofpreferably having advertising matter printed or lithographed thereon.'The lower portion of the sheet may have foldable steps 4, for exampletwo or more, formed by horizontal shelf portions 5 55 and 6 and uprightor vertical portions 'I and 8. The panel portion 2 is foldably connectedto the shelf portion 5 of the upper step by a suitable crease fold orother articulative means il) and the shelf portion 5 isA foldablyconnected to the upright portion 'l by a similar crease I0. The shelfportion 6 of the lower step likewise is foldably connected to theupright portion l! by a fold ll and to the upright portion 8 by a foldIl. By creasing the sheet in this manner, the

steps 4 are readily folded out of the plane of the sheet when the deviceis placed on a counter or in a store window.

In order to enhance the appearance of the device and to strengthen thesteps, suitable supplemental steps l2 may be provided at the respectivesides of the steps 4. These steps preferably are out of horizontalalignment or staggered with respect to the steps i and provide anattractive border or margin at the sides of the device. The supplementalsteps are formed by portions i4 projecting upwardly from theV uprightportions l and 8, shelf portions l5 rendered foldable by suitablecreases or folds i5, and a slit Il (Fig. 1) defining the inner sideedges of the upwardly projecting portions i4 and the shelf portions l5.

The display device described above is adapted to be used for advertisingpurposes and is also adapted to be used as a display stand forsupporting articles of merchandise which may be placed on the shelfportions 5, 6 and l5. If desired, the upright portions l and 8 and theupwardly projecting portions iii may be provided with suitable tabs orprojections i3 cut or stamped from the sheet which further enhance theappearance of the device. These tabs are at the forward edges of thesteps and are adapted to retain the articles on the shelves to preventthem from falling therefrom in the event the device is shakenaccidentally. For example, in Fig. 1 several packages I8 containingarticles of merchandise are shown retained by the tabs IS.

In order to strengthen the display sheet l Yand to provide means forsupporting and locking an easel, about to be described, a second sheet20 (Fig. 2) of suitable material is Vfoldably connected to the back ofthe display sheet. This sheet 2i) preferably is substantiallyrectangular and has its upper portion 2i secured to the back of thedisplay panel '2 by cement, glue, adhesive or other suit-able attachingmeans. The lower portion of the sheet is folded at 22 to form ahorizontal base portion 24 serving as a support and the base portion 2dis foldably secured to the back of the upright portion 8 of the lowerstep 4 by a foldable flap 25.` The central portion has a flap orfoldable` portion 2e cut therefrom which is foldably connected to thebase portion 24 Yby a crease 2i and is secured to the back of theupright portion 'i of the upper step. By securing the easel mountingsheet to the panel 2 and the upright step portions 'i and 8, the stepsare materially strengthened and are capable of supporting greater weightwithout collapsing or sagging. Above the cut out portion of the sheet, adepending portion 29 extends downwardly from the upper step (Fig. 3)which is adapted to cooperate with easel aps to guide and lock them intoposition. Y

The easel member preferably is formed of a Ysheet of material 3i?comprising an upright middle portion 3i adapted to be secured to theback of the iiap or foldable portion Y2t and a wing or easel iiap 32 ateach side thereof. The easel flaps are foldably connected to the middleportions 3I Yby creases 34 formed to permit the easel flaps to swingfreely and move with very little effort, so that the easel flaps may befolded automatically without manual operations when the display deviceis set up or collapsed. If desired, only one easel flap may be utilizedalthough two aps are preferred because they form a steadier support forthe device and can be provided without material increase in cost. Y

Each of the easel iiaps has a downwardly extending notch or recess 35adapted to receive and lock the depending portion 29 of the easelmounting sheet and these notches preferably are approximately twice aswide as the thickness of the portion 29 to facilitate entry and removalthereof. Adjacent the back of the notch, each of the flaps 32 isprovided with an upwardly projecting ear 35 having a forwardly facingupright edge 37 adapted to engage the back of the depending portion 29and guide it into the notches. Preferably, the ears are of suiiicientheight to enable the edges 31 to engage the depending portion when thedevice is in either collapsed or set up position, whereby the edges 31at all times are effective to guide the depending portion. In order tofacilitate locking the easel automatically, the notches 35 and thedependingportion 29 are formed to be in substantially vertical alignmentwhenever the edges 31 of the ears engage the back of the dependingportion. Consequently, when the device is being set up, the dependingportion is wedged against the edges 3l and is guided into the notches tolock the flaps or Wings 32.

Another feature of the present construction is that the width of thenotches permits the easel flaps to be placed in diverging positions withrespect to each other (Fig. 2) to form a more sturdy support for thedisplay. A further feature of the easel construction is that the easelflaps have an upwardly facing edge 39 intermediate the crease 34 and thenotchr35 adapted to support the horizontal shelf portion 5 (Fig. 3) ofthe Yupper step to further strengthen the device.

The operation of the easel construction, while placing the device in setup position, is illustrated more particularly in Fig. 4. This isaccomplished by holding the collapsed device in upright position withone hand and rotating it slowly by a slight twist of the wrist to swingthe easel -naps and cause the edges 31 of the ears to engage the back ofthe depending portion 29. Thereafter, the device is placed on a suitablesurface dil and is gradually lowered to fold the steps 4 and I2 out ofthe vertical plane of the sheet. During thefoldi'ng of the steps, thedepending portion 29 moves downwardly and re-arwardly and engages theedges Y3l' of the ears YSt and wedges or moves the iiaps into positionso that the notches 35 are in vertical alignment with the dependingportion. Upon further downward movement, the steps lare folded intotheir desired position, and the depending portion moves downwardly intothe notches until the lower edge thereof engages the bottom of thenotches. The device is now effectively locked in display V'position andcannot collapse accidentally. All of these operations can be performedby using one hand and take only a few seconds.

WhenV it is desired to collapse the device, the

Ypanel portion 2 is held by one hand and is lifted.

The step portions thenV fold into the vertical plane of the sheet andthe depending portion is raised out of the notches to automaticallyunlock the easel flaps and permit them to be folded into iiat position.These operations are so simple that they can be performed rapidly byinexperienced persons.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a simple,inexpensive display device formed of a minimum number of sheets adaptedto be shaped by cutting .and creasing operations which do not requirecomplicated machinery. 'I'he device is readily set up and collapsed andautomatically operates the easel, thereby eliminating hand operationsheretofore required to fold and lock the easel. The easel locking parts.are not subjected to severe bending strains and are not damaged orimpaired while setting up or collapsing the device. In addition, thedevice is attractive in appearance, rugged in construction and canreadily withstand any rough usage to which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts here'- in without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention and without sacricing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the ccmbination of a foldabledisplay member having a downwardly depending portion at the backthereof, and an easel member operatively hinge-d to said foldable memberand freely movable with 're-- spect thereto, said easel member having anotch therein for receiving said downwardlydepending portion and having.an upwardly extending por'- ticn adjacent the back side of said notchadapted to engage the back of said depending portion and automaticallyguide said depending portion into said notch while said foldable memberis being folded into display position.A

2. In a device of the class described, the: combination of a foldabledisplay member having a downwardly depending portion on the backthereof, and a pair of easel members operatively hinged to said foldablemember and freely movable with respect thereto, said easel members eachhaving a notch therein for receiving said downwardly depending portionand having an upwardly extending portion adjacent one side of said notchadapted to engage and automatically guide said depending portion intosaidv notch while said foldable member is being folded into displayposition, said notches being positioned in sad easel members withrespect to said depending portion so that said easel members are adaptedto extend rearwardly obliquely with respect to said foldable memberwhile in display position.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a foldablesheet providing a display wall, a second sheet foldably attached to theback of said iirst sheet and having a downwardly depending portion, anda third sheet attached to and carried by said second sheet having afreely movable hinged easel flap, said flap having a notch and aprojecting portion for engaging and automatically guiding saiddownwardly depending portion into said notch when said first sheet isfolded into display position.

4. In a device of the class described', the combination of a foldabledisplay member, a second member having upper and lower portions thereofsecured to the back of said display member and having aflap cut from thecentral portion and foldable out of the plane of said second member, theupper end of said iiapA being attached to the back of said first member,said second member having a downwardly depending portion .above saidflap, and a third member secured to the back of said flap, said thirdmember having a foldable easel flap provided with an upwardly facingnotch .adapted to receive said downwardly depending portion.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a displaymember having creases whereby said member is adapted to be folded toprovide at least three upright portions spaced by alternate horizontalportions to form a plurality of steps, .a second member having the upperportion thereof secured to the upper upright portion and having thelower portion thereof foldably attached to the lower upright portion,said second member having a flap cut from the central portion thereof,foldable out of the plane thereof, and attached to the intermediateupright portion of said rst member, said second member having a portiondepending downwardly from the upper upright portion, and a third membersecured to said ap having an easel flap provided with a notch forreceiving said downwardly depending portion of said second member.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a displaymember creased to be folded to provide three vertical walls spaced byalternate horizontal shelves, a second member having the upper portionthereof secured to the upper vertical wall and having the lower portionthereof foldably attached to the lower lvertical wall, said secondmember having a nap formed from the central portion thereof, foldableout of the plane thereof, and attached to the intermediate vertical wallof said first member, said second member having a portion dependingdownwardly from the upper vertical wall, a third member secured to saidflap having an easel flap providedv with a notch for receiving saiddownwardly depending portion of said second member, and an upwardlyextending ear adjacent the notch for engaging the back side of saiddepending portion to guide it into the notch.

'7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a foldabledisplay member having a plurality of steps at the middle thereof and aplurality of steps at the respective sides thereof, said steps at thesides being out of horizontal .alignment with respect to said steps atthe middle of said display member, a second member foldably attached tothe back of said foldable member having a downwardly depending portion,and a third member secured to said second member, said third memberhaving an easel iiap provided with a notch adapted to receive saiddepending portion when said'i-lrst member is folded into displayformation.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a foldabledisplay member having a plurality of steps and upwardly extendingportions at the forward edges of the steps, a second sheet foldablyattached to the back of said rst sheet and having a downwardly dependingportion, and a third sheet attached to and carried by said second sheethaving a freely movable hinged easel flap, said flap having a notch andan upwardly extending ear adjacent the notch for engaging said dependingportion of said second sheet and guiding it into said notch.

RALPH J. MANCUSO.

